Reducing trigger pull on a carry gun

[Banger19]

I normally carry my 1911's with 3 1/2 # triggers but now I want to start carring my glock 23 more because I just trust it the most. I have added a LWD 3.5# connector and Ultimate trigger stop . I also did the .25 trigger job, but my pull is still around 4.75-5.0# . What can I do to shave off another 1 1/2 #s so I have around a 3 1/2 - 4# pull?

I dont want to mess with the striker spring to keep my gun reliable with all bullets. I was thinking of using one of vaneks custom FP plungers and springs and mabe even the trigger bar too.

I know I will probably get flamed for wanting to modify a carry gun. I do understand the risks involved with this and except the responsibility if I ever have to use my gun in self defense. I think that a gun with a better trigger will make me more accurate and reduce the chance of missed shots that could possibly injury bystanders. So what are some good trigger mods you would yous on your carry gun?

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Change the striker spring to a 4 pound and you are there. Test it with your carry ammo to make sure it goes bang everytime. Look at JoeD's post on the 2.5 pound trigger if you want more. Or you could just get used to a 5 pound trigger ;-) Thanks, Eric

[JThompson]

I normally carry my 1911's with 3 1/2 # triggers but now I want to start carring my glock 23 more because I just trust it the most. I have added a LWD 3.5# connector and Ultimate trigger stop . I also did the .25 trigger job, but my pull is still around 4.75-5.0# . What can I do to shave off another 1 1/2 #s so I have around a 3 1/2 - 4# pull?

I dont want to mess with the striker spring to keep my gun reliable with all bullets. I was thinking of using one of vaneks custom FP plungers and springs and mabe even the trigger bar too.

I know I will probably get flamed for wanting to modify a carry gun. I do understand the risks involved with this and except the responsibility if I ever have to use my gun in self defense. I think that a gun with a better trigger will make me more accurate and reduce the chance of missed shots that could possibly injury bystanders. So what are some good trigger mods you would yous on your carry gun?

Yes you will get shit about tweaking a carry. Take it to the range and practice with the heavier trigger... leave it alone!

[Nik Habicht]

Welcome! You won't get flamed -- we try pretty hard not to be that kind of forum. We're also not typically concerned with the self defense aspects of the shooting sports, as this little tidbit from the forum rules suggests:

Intent

This Forum is for firearm, technique, and conceptual discussions pertaining to training and competition. (And various unrelated topics.) While the occasional defensive shooting post is not prohibited, in general, defensive shooting discussions or debates are discouraged.

That said, I'd be worried about ignition reliability more than legal liability when performing a radical trigger lightening job on a Glock. Yes the out of the box trigger can use a little cleaning up, but go too far and reliability can easily become an issue, if you're not a master of the Glock trigger job. Best bet: talk to some of the Glock tuners -- Vanek, Robar, Matt Kartozian at Custom Glock Racing -- and then pick one of them to take a look at your trigger. Follow their recommendations and practice -- don't sweat the actual pull weight as much.

[SA Friday]

Polish the trigger bow especially where it contact the safety plunger and the disconnector. Polish the 5 lb connector front and back and put it back in the gun. Take the overtravel stop back out of it. Leave all the springs factory. Put good night sights on it. Then, put it back in the holster. Practice with it until you no longer believe that a lighter trigger is required to be accurate enough to shoot defensively.

I shoot glocks competitively with light triggers. I carry Glocks when off-duty with factory (but polished) triggers in them. They are both as accurate as the other. Combat/self-defense is a totally different mindset than competition. The stressors in a shooting are off the scale. It wouldn't matter if the thing had a 20 lb trigger in it. You would still be hard-pressed to really feel anything about the trigger pull at that point. And that's the danger, too light and you get AD's. I'm not advocating a trigger pull as heavy as the NY trigger system, but I'm also very against a trigger under 3-3.5 lbs in a carry gun.

[JThompson]

I think the heavier trigger teaches you better habits with respect to trigger control. If the trigger is light you may get away with a little sloppy pull, but the more it takes to break the shot the more bad form will show up.

[Micah]

I polished the internals of my Glock 26 but kept everything stock. You increase the risk of spring breakage and light strikes when going to a stronger trigger spring or clipping coils off your striker spring, or ftf's when changing out your recoil rod and springs.

Like Nik said, welcome to the forums, and don't worry about getting flamed here. These forums are about exchanging knowledge about shooting sports, not putting others down.

[smokshwn]

Definitely in the camp of simply polish up the parts and leave the rest stock. A carry gun is no place to be running experiements and tweaked parts. The bigger piece of advice from a defensinve perspective is to not sorry so much about the tool as the skills and knowledge of person wielding it.

[SoonerPast]

I am new to Glock, acquired one recently from an estate/ a 2nd generation 19. I replaced the springs with the Wolf kit, the 3.5# connector, and all the parts have been polished. The new springs made a surprising difference. The trigger pull is a lot lighter, haven't measured it though. I tried several ammo samples and all fired.

The pull is so light though, that I would not carry it like it is now. I am going to put the stock striker spring back in it to compare the result. But the new trigger effect is fun though. If this were a pistol intended for competition, it would be just fine.

[Banger19]

I broke out the dremal today and did some polishing on all the contact points to a mirrior finish. I also rounded the plunger slightly like the lightining strike one, and clipped a couple coils off the fp plunger's spring. All this combined with the lone wolf 3.5 connector and overtravel stop do give me a good pull. I will probably leave it like this and just shoot it for a while.

What do you guys think about adding a Glockmiester XP trigger spring to my setup? I hear it drops the pull down about 1/2# is this accurate?

[Micah]

What do you guys think about adding a Glockmiester XP trigger spring to my setup?

With respect, I think that you are now making a mistake by changing too many things on a carry gun. Glocks are exceptionally popular with law enforcement because they are exceptionally reliable. There is literally nothing that you can do to a stock Glock to make it MORE reliable...and reliability is the main necessity of a carry gun.

Even with a competition gun, you should only be changing one thing at a time, then testing it at the range. That way, if a modification that you have done is making your pistol malfunction, you can easily identify the cause.

[bountyhunter]

Hello: Change the striker spring to a 4 pound and you are there. Test it with your carry ammo to make sure it goes bang everytime. Look at JoeD's post on the 2.5 pound trigger if you want more. Or you could just get used to a 5 pound trigger ;-) Thanks, Eric

Or, you could be advised that 5# trigger will feel like a five OUNCE trigger if your life is ever actually in danger and you have to pull the weapon.

Cops all across this country are firing AD's with issue Glocks which have pulls WAY heavier than 5#. My personal opinion is the 14# DA long distance pull of a SW revolver was the best silent angel we had preventing AD's..... I would never reduce the pull weight on a carry piece.

Edited December 10, 2007 by bountyhunter

[Banger19]

What do you guys think about adding a Glockmiester XP trigger spring to my setup?

With respect, I think that you are now making a mistake by changing too many things on a carry gun. Glocks are exceptionally popular with law enforcement because they are exceptionally reliable. There is literally nothing that you can do to a stock Glock to make it MORE reliable...and reliability is the main necessity of a carry gun.

Even with a competition gun, you should only be changing one thing at a time, then testing it at the range. That way, if a modification that you have done is making your pistol malfunction, you can easily identify the cause.

How will adding an xp trigger spring reduce reliablity? I have heard that they do break more than the standard ones but it takes at least 3-5k rounds from what I have read. If I change this spring every 2k rounds I should be okay ?

I am just curious about this stuff, and will most likely not use it in a carry gun, unless I really feel the need.

Do you guys think that LWD trigger stop is ok for ccw? I have heard you can epoxy the set screw in place once you get it tuned and it should not move screw/unscrew during recoil, but does it have a negative effect on trigger travel or reset?

I spoke to Charlie vanek today, and he talked some sense into me about modding a carry gun. He really is a swell guy and very honest even at the cost of loosing a sale. He carries a g27 with a LWD 3.5 connector and does his special polishing and tweeking and gets his trigger down to 3# !! WOW! All stock parts except for a LWD connector! He wouldn't really tell me his secrets, but he did mention he does alot of sanding and polishing to the Plunger. He said he can do a carry job on my gun, as he does for the police in his area already.

[nwb01]

My carry gun recieved nothing more than a polish job and a FACTORY 3.5lb connector. It just doesn't make sense to me to modify a carry gun. It needs to be 100% reliable, anything else is not acceptable.

[ima45dv8]

What's that line about the two loudest sounds in the world?

A bang when you expected a click, and a click when you needed a bang.

[BR]

Hey Banger--

You will get more opinions on this subject than you will get on the what is the best competition trigger for production. Why? First, everyone has different opinions on what makes a good trigger. Of itself, a very subjective topic. But, even more importantly, and second, everyone has an opinion on what "might happen" and how he/she would react and/or act in a defense situation. Every defense scenario is a little bit different, and every person's anticipated, and real, reaction is a little bit different.

My answer to a carry trigger consists of a trigger kit from a reputable and well-known USPSA shooter who modifies trigger bars and components, combined with a 5lb. connector and stock striker spring. It results in a nice, crisp feel that nobody can reasonably argue is "hair trigger," but is very, very crisp. I know exactly when the shot will break. Also, I can shoot <.20 splits with my carry gun [a g23 in .40], which is not much faster than my best splits with my 9mm minor production guns. Just practice with your carry gun compared to your regular competition gun to appreciate their differences. Cheers,

-br

Until you're there, you don't know. I think competition and practice

[atmar]

What can I do to shave off another 1 1/2 #s so I have around a 3 1/2 - 4# pull?

glockmeister xp trigger spring....try it, experience is the best teacher....everyone else is just someone who has nothing to do w/ a computer and an internet connection hehe just kidding guys peace

[Greg Bell]

Connector and light polish job on my carry Glock. I had experimented with various springs but inevitably a failure would eventually crop up during a range session and that just won't cut it on a defense gun.

[Banger19]

Thanks guys. The more I think about it the less I want to add any modifications to my carry gun. Good shooting!

[WARDOG]

I used my glock in self defense, trust me on this one: you want a CRISP BUT HEAVY trigger, not so heavy that hinder your performance, but please don't mess with internals other than a polishing job. I fired five rounds so fast that witness thought I had a machine gun, and I had the stock 5.5 trigger.

Also, put the largest, brightest night sights you can find because no matter what pratice you have under your belt, you will look at the opponent, not the sights.

And pratice transitions like there's no tomorrow, because when you will extend your arms to fire, they will be stiff like stone and you will not see beyond what's directly in front of you.

Hope it helps.

[bountyhunter]

I used my glock in self defense, trust me on this one: you want a CRISP BUT HEAVY trigger, not so heavy that hinder your performance, but please don't mess with internals other than a polishing job. I fired five rounds so fast that witness thought I had a machine gun, and I had the stock 5.5 trigger.

Lucky you don't live in kalifornia.

DA: "Why did you feel the need to shoot that poor burglar FIVE TIMES?"

Defendant: "Well..... he was still wiggling after four......"

Edited December 11, 2007 by bountyhunter

[Micah]

Since the OP's question has been answered, and the topic is getting more into self defense, now is a good time to close this thread.

Intent

This Forum is for firearm, technique, and conceptual discussions pertaining to training and competition. (And various unrelated topics.) While the occasional defensive shooting post is not prohibited, in general, defensive shooting discussions or debates are discouraged.